Date: 2021-07-23

Justice Mahmood Abdulgafar of Kwara State High Court, sitting in Ilorin, on Thursday, sentenced a fake customs officer, Yakubu Azeez Afolayan, to twenty years imprisonment for impersonation and job scam.

The suspect was arrested by the Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for defrauding unsuspecting job seekers under the guise of helping them secure employment into the Nigeria Custom Service, NCS.

Following the development, he was arraigned on March 14, 2019 on a four-count charge where he pleaded not guilty to the counts.

In the course of the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses, including one of his victims, an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Investigating Officer, who is an operative of the EFCC.

Justice Abdulgafar while delivering Judgement on Thursday said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

"It is evident that NCS does not sell its recruitment forms to job applicants, but the defendant was collecting various sum of monies from his victims as application fees.

"The statements of account showed how monies were deposited into his account domiciled with the UBA by several job seekers.

"I hereby sentence you, Yakubu Azeez Afolayan to 7 years imprisonment and 3 years imprisonment run concurrently," the judge ruled.